Controversial Beer Opinions Thread

Last seen 12w 1d ago, he’s gone. If he does return he better behave himself. Too much controversy, even for this tread.

 

Controversial beer opinion. Sip of Sunshine is overpriced and over hyped. If I’m going to pay $17 a 4pk, I’ll grab lone pine breweries OH-J or if I want something of great quality for less $$$ I’ll grab Tribute from 14th star brewery.

 

Not controversial at all. Agree. Found it at a Wegmans in Corning, NY and it was like a week old. Maybe the hype killed it for me, but it wasn't all that remarkable. Have had many better beers in the $12-14/4 pack range.

 

SoS has suffered the same fate as many other great beers on the Top 250 list, but particularly IPAs. Once unique and cutting edge, now just another IPA in the crowd. People relatively new to the craft scene (last 5 years), raised on NEIPAs and other 'extreme' styles, are predictably going to be underwhelmed by any beer that is even slightly more restrained. Their palates can't appreciate more nuanced, balanced beers like SoS, even if they're only marginally so. Sad.

 

This probably isn’t that controversial but I just want to complain about tap room prices. For me the sweet spot is about $4 a pint but it’s becoming pretty rare in my city of about 8 breweries to find beers at that price. One location in particular is selling all beers for no less than $5.50 except for an occasional happy hour or special now and then, with $1 off. I love that brewery. The brewer is Siebel trained and has professional experience so the beer is good and exceeds the beer of homebrewer-turned-pros at the other spots. The space is beautiful (brand new facility), so it’s clear we’re mainly paying the rent with the higher beer prices. It’s just annoying to pay $5.50 for an English bitter. Two beers and suddenly I’ve spent $12-13. (I recognize that prices can be even higher in other cities). Anyhow, brewery trips for me have become a treat that I do much less regularly. It’s just so much cheaper to go to the store and get a whole six pack of something for $7-10. Cheers!

 

Hard disagree. For instance, look at the sports world. Records are broken all of the time by better athletes.

As far as beer goes, you'd have to expect beer will only get better over time with much more experience and much more technology. Yes, some IPAs that were once considered great are not now. That's how it goes.

 

Okay, not saying I disagree with you about some folks being obsessive about an acceptable amount of hop fade in their beer.

But ...just for shits and giggles... let's say you have a choice of ten different IPA that you like about the same. And you know they are all different dates of canning, and they are all between one week old and three months old.

Do you, or don't you, check the dates on the cans? Do you just grab any one without bothering to check a date, since you already know it's not older than three months? Or do you check dates?

 

I almost never check dates.

 

Personally, I don't see Murkbombs as "extreme" in any way. They are so restrained and similar, that the newer folks, who found these as their entry point into beer, are put off by the boldness of the more "traditional: IPAs.

 

Not usually necessary for low fills

 

The difference isn't so much experience, technique or technology. The difference is in the variety of hops grown today. Much larger yields of stuff like Mosiac, older stuff like Citra doesn't have the wow factor it once had.

As hop farmers continue to cross the more juicy hops we will get different very flavorful IPAs but it will be because of the hops not the brewer or their technology.

 

Agreed and I should have included that. My point is that there are changes being made, which is making beer better.

 

But athletes are judged by an objective measurement.
The fact that Usain Bolt ran his races faster than the athletes in the past is an unassailable point.

Beer ratings are subjective though. They depend on the whims of the consumer. Consumer preferences change over time so a certain beer style may be more preferred at one point in time then be less preferred later on. Then the pendulum can swing and gain popularity again. But that doesn't really mean any of them are better or worse. It is just a question which one matches the zeitgeist.

 

That's not controversial at all. It's just a comment on one IPA . Get a real gripe, mister!

 

While I agree completely with your general sentiment, this post reads like it was written in 2005 or something. I’d kill for a $5.50 pint these days. I can get smaller pours for that price, but typical craft pint prices are closer to $7-8 around here.

 

I'd say changes are being made that are making beer dumber and thus expanding its audience. The main reason that the hottest IPAs from several years ago seem run-of-the-mill now is that breweries have shifted much further still into emphasizing residual sugars and juicy hops expressions and toward avoiding bitterness. Thus, the beers that not long ago were prized for their sweetness, juiciness, and lack of bitterness now seem relatively dry, not outstandingly juicy, and more bitter than today's consumer desires, as @beertunes noted. I certainly wouldn't call today's beer "better" in that regard, but someone who doesn't have the palate for real-deal IPAs may well.

I mostly agree, although I do consider such beers extreme, but they're extreme in exactly the same way that bubblegum pop music is extreme; extremely accessible but cloying and often grating to those who are already more musically inclined.

 

[Open's the thread door] Pliny the Anything and Yeungling aren't the beer gods people make them out to be. [Closes door and runs before the shitstorm]

 

So, you believe beer is getting worse?